Books, in all their variety, offer the human intellect the means whereby civilisation may be carried triumphantly forward. -Churchill

Fact of the day: 1st April

Happy April Fools day! Don’t forget, it only counts until midday and then you’re the fool 😛

On this day in 1933 the recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organised a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in a series of anti-Semitic acts.

In April 1933, after Nazi control of the German state apparatus gave the Gauleiters enormous power, Streicher organised a one-day boycott of Jewish businesses which was used as a dress-rehearsal for other anti-Semitic commercial measures. As he consolidated his hold on power, he came to more or less rule the city of Nuremberg and his Gau Franken. Among the nicknames provided by his enemies were “King of Nuremberg” and the “Beast of Franconia.” Because of his role as Gauleiter of Franconia, he also gained the nickname of Frankenführer.

To protect himself from accountability, Streicher relied on Hitler’s protection. Hitler declared that Der Stürmer was his favourite newspaper, and saw to it that each weekly issue was posted for public reading in special glassed-in display cases known as “Stürmerkasten”. The newspaper reached a peak circulation of 600,000 in 1935.

Streicher later claimed that he was only “indirectly responsible” for passage of the anti-Jewish Nuremberg Laws of 1935, and that he felt slighted because he was not directly consulted.

Generally I try to choose unusual facts because I find sometimes people are just unindated with 20th century facts, but this one is different. It was a time when things were starting to change in Germany. Slowly at first, with acts like this, but it wouldn’t take as long as you would think before things escalated.

This fact is important then because it shows the early days of what the Nazis were willing to try and see what reaction would get from the rest of the world.